{"id":86552,"date":"2026-08-04T12:24:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T20:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/08\/04\/north-carolina-governor-pushes-lawmakers-to-create-a-well-regulated-legal-marijuana-market-instead-of-passing-a-limited-hemp-bill\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T19:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T03:47:11","slug":"north-carolina-governor-pushes-lawmakers-to-create-a-well-regulated-legal-marijuana-market-instead-of-passing-a-limited-hemp-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/08\/04\/north-carolina-governor-pushes-lawmakers-to-create-a-well-regulated-legal-marijuana-market-instead-of-passing-a-limited-hemp-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina Governor Pushes Lawmakers To Create A \u2018Well-Regulated\u2019 Legal Marijuana Market Instead Of Passing A Limited Hemp Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

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North Carolina\u2019s Democratic governor is calling on the Republican-controlled legislature to legalize and regulate marijuana in a way that \u201cprotects kids\u201d while lawmakers this week are considering a bill to restrict hemp THC products.<\/p>\n

Gov. Josh Stein (D) noted in a social media post on Monday that the House of Representatives is expected to take up legislation that \u201caims to eliminate the Wild West that is North Carolina\u2019s THC market.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legislature should be focused on creating a safe and well-regulated adult THC market that protects kids,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The governor also said that \u201cfor some reason, the bill also legalizes kratom, an opioid-like substance sometimes called gas station heroin, and fails to include any meaningful age restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tomorrow the House is considering a bill that aims to eliminate the Wild West that is North Carolina\u2019s THC market. For some reason, the bill also legalizes kratom, an opioid-like substance sometimes called gas station heroin, and fails to include any meaningful age restrictions.\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Governor Josh Stein (@NC_Governor) August 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n

In separate comments to reporters on Tuesday, Stein suggested that the hemp restriction bill\u2019s provision\u2019s would not sufficiently regulate or age-gate THC products.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on out there today in the market is wrong,\u201d he said, The Carolina Journal reported. \u201cThere are no protections for kids. There are no protections for adults who choose to use these products.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEither it has too much THC then it says it has or has less THC than it has, and it has all kinds of bacteria in it,\u201d the governor said. \u201cThis stuff that is bad for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we need to do is have a well-regulated THC market for adults to do whatever they want to do, where they know what they\u2019re buying, they know the quantity and they know what the ingredients are and we need to completely protect kids,\u201d Stein said. \u201cThat is not happening with the law today and unfortunately, that bill that the legislature is thinking about doesn\u2019t get us there either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have this in the law for alcohol and cigarettes,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cWhy do we make it easy for them to sell hemp and kratom to kids? There\u2019s no reason. If they have good intention, they would have real age gating and they don\u2019t have real age gating in this bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement officials are pushing lawmakers to pass the hemp restriction bill as-is.<\/p>\n

\n
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The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) joined other state and local law enforcement and public safety officials today at a news conference at the General Assembly in support of House Bill 328, Regulate Hemp-Derived Consumables.<\/p>\n

The bill would prohibit anyone\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/eQ06MtdDXT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NC SBI (@SBI1937) August 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The governor has repeatedly called on lawmakers to broadly legalize and regulate cannabis<\/a>, though GOP legislative leaders have been more interested in focusing on the narrower hemp issue.<\/p>\n

The bill to restrict hemp and kratom products was recently approved by the Senate<\/a> now awaits potential action in the House, with expectations that it could be taken up this week.<\/p>\n

Stein said earlier this month that\u00a0\u201cwe need to have a well-regulated market that puts public safety and public health at its center.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt protects kids, and it is available for adult use\u2014because adults are using it, and we can\u2019t put our heads in the sand any longer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

House Speaker Destin Hall (R), however, said, \u201cI know our caucus has no interest in doing any sort of marijuana, medicinal or otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both leaders\u2019 comments were reported by local news outlet The Assembly, which has been tracking efforts this session to pass legislation to regulate intoxicating hemp products.<\/p>\n

A commission that Stein empaneled last year recently issued a report recommending that rather than have separate frameworks for hemp and marijuana, the state should regulate THC as a molecule.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere actually used to be a distinction in the law,\u201d the governor said. \u201cThe two plants, naturally grown, had different THC levels. You\u2019d smoke hemp, it would take a whole lot to get you high\u2014and it might not. Once hemp was legalized, both growers and sellers realized you could genetically modify hemp plants and increase the level of THC.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCannabis is cannabis,\u201d he said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make sense to try to distinguish between two varieties of the same plant, and what we really care about is, is this product going to get you high or not? That\u2019s why we must regulate the THC molecule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, lawmakers in North Carolina have been considering legislation to legalize medical cannabis<\/a> for the last several sessions\u2014with the Senate approving several proposals and the House refusing to follow suit.<\/p>\n

North Carolina\u2019s Senate president pro tempore recently said that lawmakers will take a more serious look at legalizing medical marijuana<\/a> following the Trump administration\u2019s move to reschedule cannabis at the federal level.<\/p>\n

\u2014
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

The governor-appointed cannabis commission in North Carolina issued a report<\/a> in April recommending that the state move away from a criminalization-based approach to the plant and toward a system of \u201crobust\u201d regulations that provide for adults\u2019 legal access to THC products.<\/p>\n

The North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis, which Stein convened last year<\/a>, says in the new document approved in April that the current \u201cabsence of regulation for North Carolina\u2019s intoxicating cannabis market raises numerous concerns,\u201d noting that hemp products are readily available yet largely unregulated and that marijuana remains prohibited altogether in the state, even for medical use.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompared to regulated marijuana frameworks in other states, this environment presents identifiable risks,\u201d the interim report says. \u201cWhile some operators voluntarily implement consumer protection protocols, these safeguards are not required under state law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stein, for his part, thanked the group for its \u201cexpertise, hard work, and thoughtful deliberation\u201d in a press release and reiterated his support for legalizing marijuana<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Members are tasked with developing and submitting initial recommendations on a \u201ccomprehensive cannabis policy, including any proposed legislation,\u201d with a final report due by December 31 of this year.<\/p>\n

During his time as the state\u2019s attorney general, Stein led a separate task force under then-Gov. Roy Cooper (D) that\u00a0examined racial injustice issues and ultimately recommended decriminalizing marijuana and studying broader legalization<\/a>\u00a0in response to racially disparate enforcement trends.<\/p>\n

A tribe in North Carolina, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, launched the state\u2019s first marijuana dispensary in 2024\u2014despite the protests of certain Republican congressional lawmakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Democratic lawmakers recently filed legislation to allow voters to decide whether to legalize marijuana for personal or medical use<\/a> at the ballot box this November\u2014though Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R) said the bill is unlikely to advance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, bipartisan North Carolina lawmakers have been stepping up the push for psychedelics reform legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post North Carolina Governor Pushes Lawmakers To Create A \u2018Well-Regulated\u2019 Legal Marijuana Market Instead Of Passing A Limited Hemp Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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North Carolina\u2019s Democratic governor is calling on the Republican-controlled legislature to legalize and regulate marijuana in a way that \u201cprotects kids\u201d while lawmakers this week are considering a bill to restrict hemp THC products. Gov. Josh Stein (D) noted in a social media post on Monday that the House ofContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":459,"featured_media":86553,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86552"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/459"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86552"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86554,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86552\/revisions\/86554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}